The Game
by lost highway
Summary: When you have nothing left to lose, nothing left to gamble, what do you do? AU
1. Luck

This story spawns off of an interesting article I read, a movie that I watched for five minutes before deciding that it was worthless, and some mythology from my culture. The article talked about Mafia and Political Bosses, and weird things like that. The movie is called Luck and I watched the opening scene, thought that the story line was stupid and turned it off. However, the opening scene is pretty much the same as the opening scene of this story, so I can't really take credit for it. However, the rest of the story is mine. Finally, there is a story in my culture that has to do with gambling. While that ends with the traditional moral lessons, this story probably won't. So enjoy 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Never will, but I can still dream.

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The Game

When you have nothing left to lose, nothing left to gamble, what do you do?

Chapter 1: Luck

Five men stood blindfolded and handcuffed inside a solid steel cage. There was only one way out, and that was when one side of the cage rose up. None of the men moved a muscle, their keen senses taking in the scents of smoke, dirt, and metal. Their ears gauging the sound of steel grating on steel. The task was simply put, yet impossible to complete. The five men had to run across the rail yard, across every track at full speed without getting hit by a train. While being blindfolded and handcuffed. Every man was nervous, yet none showed it on their faces or in their body language. They simply waited as the steel cage opened, not moving to get across the tracks. Only when a train whistle sounded did they silently bound off the cage, beginning their sprint to safety. They were neck to neck, all of them, yet they showed no indication that they knew a man was next to them, shoulders barely touching.

They ran like bats out of hell. Every step was a danger, tripping meant having your guts splattered across the railway. But none faltered, even when they felt the wind of a rushing train as it crossed over the area their feet had been a moment ago. Suddenly, one slowed ever so slightly almost if relieved to have escaped that train. He didn't make it across the next tracks. All the other men heard was a squelching noise, but they never faltered, never turned back. Luck was against them, they had the slimmest of slim chances of making it across alive and they all knew it. Suddenly, another man fell, his feet tripping over a rail. He dragged a man down with him. Three down, two to go. The remaining sped their pace slightly, not wanting the other to make it out alive.

If the two made it out alive, it would be a fight to the death. The stakes were higher in this game than any other game played. The winner would not only have his life, but he would also collect the hundreds of thousands of dollars that were placed in betting. This was the game they played, the game of Luck. They were a handful of the luckiest, having survived over five years in the business; which is why today was the biggest event of the year. Four people were going to have their streak violently ended and in the brutal world they lived in, it meant the largest betting pool in the past two decades.

But none of this mattered to the two men racing across the tracks. All that mattered were their own lives. Suddenly, a shoelace was entangled with a bit of barbed wire. The last thing that man saw was the black and dusty grail at the front of the train.

And then there was one. One man running for his life. The number of rails quickly decreased as he crossed each and every one with inches of room to spare. But he was tiring; sweat clung to him as well as the dust that had been kicked up from running. His breaths were labored, but he continued the punishing pace. 5 rails, 4 rails, 3, 2, 1…he was free. The last train grazed past him as he took his final leap. He didn't stop running until his mind registered the change in ground. Instead of dirt and dust, he felt his feet landing on softer substance, perhaps grass. With speed that told nothing of his previous endeavor, he got out of his bindings, his wrists bruising from the pressure applied as they slipped out of the handcuffs and the eyes blinking rapidly as the blindfold was torn off. Focusing his eyes, he staggered towards the group of men waiting in the field.

"My money," he rasped. He felt like rolling his eyes; they were immaculately dressed, in solid black suits under the boiling sun. "And a one week recovery."

"You did well Hatake. Here's your three hundred thousand as we agreed. The Council expects you to be back for duty with your partner in ten days. Spend your time wisely." Danzo eyed the man. It was hard to believe that this haggard and tired man was the most feared and luckiest man in Konoha. But this was how they made the money they needed to support the dying village, surprise and deceit. Today had been a good day, they had made over 15 million dollars off of Rain, Mist, Sound, and Rock. He had felt worried when Zabuza and Hatake had been the final two, but that barbed wired quelled his nerves. Naturally he knew that no matter how lucky the others had been, they were no match for Hatake. As the man trudged back to his motorcycle, Danzo signaled to the others to return. He just had another idea, one that would spin the tables of Luck so much that in the end, no one would be able to tell heads from tails.

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A slam was the only warning that Iruka got as he roommate walked through the door. Taking one quick glance at him, Iruka pulled off both the shirt and pants from the unresisting body before shoving it under the shower. He left as soon as the water became hot, just this side of scalding. Steam was billowing out of the shower as he silently closed the door. Once outside, he went through the standard procedure. A basin of hot water, clean towels and rags, aspirin, muscle relaxant cream, bandages, and gauze were all placed on a small table near the king sized bed. He spread a tarp on the bed, not wanting it to get wet from the water or bodily fluids. And then he sat, waiting for the man in the shower to come out.

Fifteen minutes later, the bathroom door opened and out walked Kakashi, clad only in a pair of clean boxers. Now that the dirt and grime was gone, Iruka was easily able to see the knicks and scratches that occurred. He noted the tense muscles as Kakashi slowly walked towards the bed. Once he was settled, Iruka began to efficiently clean away at the wounds and bandage the larger ones. Handing two aspirin over with a glass of water, he cleared away everything as Kakashi swallowed the small pills and lay face down on the sheet. Grabbing the muscle relaxant cream, Iruka stepped onto the bed and began working the kinks and knots from the body under him. Kakashi made no sound and no movement. Finally done with the back, he easily rolled Kakashi over and began to work on the front of his body. Half an hour later, he wordlessly propped Kakashi up and worked on his arms. Finally done, he went to the bathroom, wet a towel, and began to clean off the excess cream. Removing the sheet, he moved the bed covers so that Kakashi could get some sleep.

"Three hundred thousand, ten days, and partners." Kakashi said before dropping his head and becoming dead to the world.

Iruka nodded to the already sleeping man. He walked over and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Welcome home. I'm glad you came back safe."

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Silence still prevailed the next morning as the two men ate breakfast. Iruka sipped on his piping hot, black coffee as Kakashi chowed down a bowl of cereal. Both men were calmly reading literature; Iruka had Time magazine open while Kakashi had his nose in his beloved Icha Icha. Still quiet, they cleaned their respective silverware and headed into their two separate bathrooms to shower. Fifteen minutes later, they both emerged, wearing only towels around their waist. Heading into their own rooms, they dressed before meeting each other on the couch in the living room.

"So how much did you make yesterday?" Kakashi asked lazily, propping his Icha Icha on his chest.

"Eighty five thousand. It was a basic challenge, jump off a 4 story building. Everyone survived the jump, only I survived the fight."

"Track running. It was me, Zabuza, and three others from Mist, Rain, Sound and Rock. Zabuza was with me until the very end. I'm sorry to have him gone, he was a good fight and a good man."

"I'd rather have you come back to me any day Kakashi. If I had to choose anyone's life, it would be yours."

"My life exists because of luck. There is nothing you could do to every change that fact. You had better not forget it." Kakashi got up and walked into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"How can I forget when every night I pray that your luck will hold out and you'll be safe at home once again? How can I forget when I love you so much?" Iruka whispered to the empty room.

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well...should i continue? actually, i've written a couple of chapters of this...they still need to be edited. this is the first time that i'm actually trying to write something that's longer than 1000 words.

feedback is really appreciated, especially something that might help with how to develop a plot well!

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!! THANKS!


	2. The Beginning of the End

Chapter 2! Yay!

So I'd like to shout out to all the other college students out there like me who are pretty much getting raped by school. And boy do I mean raped. I mean, here I am doing homework for chemistry which is NEVER ENDING! God I HATE that class. But anyways, posting this new chapter makes me happy. I've started working on a third chapter, and probably my next update will be this weekend. *fingers crossed*

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story! I'm glad you all enjoyed!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Never will, but I can still dream.

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Chapter 2: The Beginning of the End

Six thirty. Iruka glanced wearily at the clock. Normally he loved his job as the manager of the local bookstore, but today, all he wanted to do was go home and reconcile with Kakashi. He hadn't meant to blurt out what he had that morning, and now Kakashi was angry with him for reminding him of his past. He sighed. Kakashi's past was a taboo. He had learned of it purely by chance. But Iruka's past held much of the same emotion as Kakashi's past. It was these emotions and experiences that caused them to discover the Game and each other.

Iruka glanced at the clock again. 6:45. Another hour before they would even announce closing time. At least it was a Sunday night and the shop closed two hours earlier than usual timing. Propping his chin on his fist, he let his memories take over his mind. He could remember the exact time that their partnership began. They had been newbies in the Game. And the very first task to test each person's luck was a shooting game. There had been six of them that day. He could still remember the youngest one there, Naruto. The poor orphan had only been eleven at the time. But he was far from innocent. His bright blue eyes clearly expressed all the hurt and grief that he had suffered. Iruka himself was only 19 with Kakashi at the age of 20. He mused over the others who were present. Hayate, he had looked so ill that Iruka thought he was going to keel over before anything began. Itachi, cold and unapproachable; but Iruka had always been exceptionally good at reading people. Under that icy exterior was an adolescent who was just as lost and scared as anyone else.

And finally, there was Mizuki, his best friend, his brother. They had grown up together, children in the same orphanage. They played pranks together and were as happy as they could be for two orphans. But then, Iruka had been adopted by Sarutobi. After his adoption, he didn't see Mizuki for five years, but always kept an eye out for him. It was by pure luck that they both began attending the same high school. He remembered the day that he entered his first period math class and saw Mizuki sitting at a desk, The next scene was almost embarrassing when he thought back to it. He had pounced on Mizuki, not letting the latter even see his face before he strangled him in a bear hug. Elation couldn't even begin to describe the feeling that filled Iruka like a balloon. Of course, the caught off-guard Mizuki threw a punch at Iruka's stomach, effectively landing the both of them in the principal's office. But it was worth regaining his best friend.

Of course, Iruka thought sourly, good things never last forever. Life got harder after Sarutobi died. Iruka entered Konoha State with Mizuki, only to find by the end of his first semester that his scholarship was going to be lost because of the lack of funding. It had been Iruka's dream to become a teacher and the only way that was going to happen was after he got his Masters in Education. So he fell to finding odd jobs which managed to garner enough money to pay for the first semester of his sophomore year. Mizuki fell into the same situation. That was how they found the Game. They had no idea that one night at a seedy bar was going to change their future forever.

Their surprise when they found out that the shooting game wasn't something like shooting at targets, but shooting each other, was an understatement. They were in shock; no wonder it was going to pay them each ten thousand dollars, enough for room and board for a year. That was where he had met Kakashi and the others. Leaving was no longer an option since the only way to leave the Game was death. The task was set up so that everyone would stand in a circle, about twenty feet away from each other. They were all given a gun and at the count of three, they were told that they would have to shoot the person to their right. And the bullet had to hit the adjacent person. The goal was to survive the shooting. As they lined up in a circle, Mizuki stood to Iruka's left, and Kakashi to his right. Iruka sighed, he knew that he would survive. Mizuki wouldn't aim to kill, and he most definitely wouldn't be aiming to kill Kakashi. The rule was that they had to survive, not kill. Three, two-

"Excuse me sir," a girl asked, "can you tell me if you have 'Modern Warfare' in stock?"

"Of course, give me a minute," Iruka said politely, mentally chastising himself for daydreaming on the job. "We do have it in stock, if it's not on the shelves, it's probably in the backroom. Have you checked the shelves?"

"Yes."

"Then let me go get it from the back." Iruka left the girl at the customer service desk while he went to the back searching for the book she wanted. Who would think that this mild mannered manager killed people and was quite possibly an adrenaline junkie? If you had told this to Iruka seven years ago, he would've laughed his ass off. Seven years ago, the only thing that Iruka thought about was college, classes, and becoming a teacher. Nothing could stand in the way of his dream. Now at the age of twenty six, he knew how easily dreams could be lost, and knew how hard he had to fight to keep his hold on them. Grabbing the book that he was searching for, he returned to the desk to ring up her purchase. Glancing at the clock he sighed when it still read 7:15. Unbidden, the memories of that first task popped in his head.

Three, two, one. All Iruka could feel was incredible pain. Glancing at Kakashi, he saw that his bullet had grazed his hip, fulfilling his duty. But why was he in so much pain. He felt paralyzed, he couldn't move his arms of legs. But he knew that he wasn't dead, it hurt too much for him to be dead. Suddenly, his vision was filled with a masked face and one eye.

"Mizuki?" he croaked, the condition of his brother the only thing on his mind. He hadn't even registered yet that Mizuki had been aiming to kill.

"Dead." Iruka began to sob. The physical, emotional, and mental pain overcame him, and the last thing he remembered was a single blue eye peering at him with concern.

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Well, that's it for chapter two. I realized that it's kind of short, but hopefully I'll have chapter three up soon. But I make no promises. Unfortunately, college does come first.

Please READ AND REVIEW!!!! Thanks!


	3. An Unlikely Friendship

So now I have a livejournal account. It's actually quite exciting. It's like having a journal/blog, except you don't waste all of that paper and kill trees. Yeah, if you can't tell from that subtle hint, I'm an environmentalist. Not one of those crazy ones who are like "we will not eat food from a grocery store because it is mass produced!" but the kind that it like "turn off the taps as you brush your teeth" or "turn off the lights and unplug things that are not in use" or "RECYCLE!" The last one I cannot stress enough. Sure energy goes into recycling, and that energy source is not the best for the environment, but not recycling is so much worse. So recycle.

Now, onto chapter 3.

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Chapter 3: An Unlikely Friendship

Mizuki had been the only death that day. _But I had been a damn near close second_. Glancing at the clock again, he grimaced. 7:30. The world was out to get him. _Well, considering the nature of his job, actually, the world was out to get him_. He shook his head of these unpleasant thoughts and began bustling around the store. He picked up fallen books, moving graphic novels from the travel section where they had been haphazardly thrown because they were unwanted. He pushed his glasses up his nose irritably. Why is it that people thought that they could get away with putting _Batman_ in the middle of _The Historical Travels of Lewis and Clark_? Moving from section to section, he put away the books, leaving his favorite section for last. _Fiction_, he smiled. His eyes fell on a book that had fallen off the shelves. _The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja_. _Of course_, he thought sadly, the one book which he had read multiple times. _The only decent one by that pervert_. It had been introduced to him by Naruto when he was lying bedridden. He missed that blonde.

-Flashback-

"Iruka-sensei!" a loud voice boomed in his ear. "Are you awake?"

Iruka moaned at the loudness that could only come from the one and only loudmouth named Naruto. And worst of all, because of his injury, he couldn't quite muster up the energy to move. His vision was suddenly filled with bright blue eyes. He couldn't help it; he smiled at those large, happy eyes.

"Naruto," he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't tell me you forgot sensei!" He pouted. "You're going to tutor me today!"

"Ah yes, tutor." Iruka smiled. He had tried so hard to feel angry towards Naruto for taking away what little family he had left. He hadn't spoken to the boy for a month after he woke up from his coma. He remembered the first time that he opened his eyes after a week, only to see the blonde. He had raged and screamed at him, accusing him of being a monster for killing his best friend and brother. For a month, Iruka's heart clenched, _I was so cruel_. But it had been a day when he was waking from his nap that he heard Naruto's heartfelt apology. The poor boy hadn't even known what the task was; he had been tricked into coming by Mizuki. He had no idea how to shoot a gun; he had just pointed and pulled the trigger. Iruka had never wanted to hear such a self loathing tone ever again. When he had woken up, Naruto had almost bolted before Iruka had gently called him to his side. It had taken two months of kind words and praises before the boy had become his normal self. Little by little, Iruka had pulled the entire story from Naruto. How he was an orphan, how his older brother was Kyuubi the serial killer, how Mizuki had become an older brother for him until he found out who he was. And finally, how Mizuki had abandoned him because his relationship to Kyuubi and still burning hatred. As much as Iruka resented Kyuubi, he could not blame Naruto for what he did. Mizuki wasn't the only one who lost his family to Kyuubi; Naruto had been the final victim.

"Ne sensei?" Naruto looked quizzically at a zoning out Iruka. "Can you teach me how to do fractions?"

"Fractions?!" Iruka asked in a surprised manner. "But last week you were just on your multiplication tables. How did you move onto fractions so quickly?"

"Well," Naruto replied shyly, lowering his eyes, "I went home and practiced all of the tricks that you taught me here and got a 94 on my exam. The teachers were surprised at my good grade that they gave me another exam on division, which you had already taught me. When I passed that, they said I could move into a higher math class. My new class is on fractions so I need to catch up."

Iruka felt a balloon swell inside of him; this is what he was meant to do, teach. There was nothing like the feeling of satisfaction when someone understood what you taught perfectly and celebrated their successes with you. Smiling, he asked Naruto to open his book and show him exactly what had to be taught. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to teach, so he'd make do with anything that he could. He knew that as soon as he recovered, he'd be back to the Game.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto whined. Iruka immediately turned back to him. There was time to think of the future when he was better.

-End Flashback-

Sighing, Iruka picked up a book that had fallen on the ground. His back twanged with a phantom pain, a clear sign that he had been either been working too hard, someone was about to attack him, or been thinking about the past. _Well, it's obvious what it is today_, he thought. Glancing at the clock, he rejoiced. 7:50 finally! Now he could start closing up.

"Attention customers, Kage Bookstore will be closing in ten minutes. Please bring all purchases up to the front desk. Thank you and have a good night." Iruka waited for the rush of the four or five book junkies to make it to the front.

"Iruka!" A brown haired man with hair falling across his face came up to the desk. "How have you been? I just found this amazing book about conspiracy theories. I love how you have a complete section dedicated to it!"

"Only for you Izumo." Iruka smiled. "Now where is your counterpart? I swear, if he is still sitting in that chair, I'll ban him from the store for three days."

"Now, now Iruka," another man said as he sidled up to the desk. "Don't be that way."

"One day I will carry out my threat Kotetsu!"

"Naw, you're too mild mannered." Kotetsu replied. "You probably couldn't harm a hair on the head of a flea. And those are nasty little buggers."

"Yeah, especially when an Inuzaka dog infected with one. You should see the panic those people get into." Izumo added.

"See you tomorrow guys" Iruka said, ushering them out the door.

"Always Iruka!" Waving cheerily, they left the bookstore, leaving Iruka with a couple of his employees. After checking and rechecking the store, Iruka sent his employees home as he locked up. It was time to go back and talk to Kakashi. Getting into his much beloved Prius, Iruka left his store, hoping that Kakashi would be willing to listen to his apology. He smiled as he thought of the other man. He was indebted to him for everything. He was the one who gave Naruto rides to and from school and to the hospital for Iruka's tutoring. It was Kakashi who helped him through physical therapy. It was Kakashi who suggested that they move into the same flat so that they could have each other's backs in the Game. It was Kakashi who got him the job at the bookstore as he saw how restless Iruka was sitting at home. Kakashi had done everything for him (and Naruto) and when asked why, he had simply waved it off, muttered "old debts," or said that Iruka and he weren't very different.

In return, Iruka had become a sort of housewife, taking care of Kakashi on bad days, making food, cleaning, and such. And he didn't mind at all; it was the least he could do for everything that Kakashi had done. And so, they had developed this unlikely friendship. Finally, Iruka parked his car and entered the flat apprehensively. A set of shoes told him that Kakashi was home.

"Kakashi," he called out. "I'm home. What would you like for dinner?"

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Please don't kill me *hides under desk* I haven't quite decided how the conversation is going to go between Iruka and Kakashi. All I know is that Kakashi won't be quite as laid back as he is in the manga. Usually I write crack, and this is one of the few times that I won't be.

But that's all I know right now. I have a brief respite from college work, and a plot bunny involving a hamster. So I will try to write a lot over the next few days so the next update will be sooner.

Read and Review Please!!!!


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